Topic: Technology

I'm back. Did you miss me? I sure missed being here, among the bits and bytes. In case you are wondering, the changeover of our service to cable internet didn't go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. In fact, it was one of those experiences that left me a little gobsmacked.

We recently decided to switch from our existing internet service to MegaCable. Our existing service had been getting worse and worse. We suffered hundreds of micro drops in service throughout the day which really played havoc with uploads and downloads, and in my business, I do a lot of uploading. Speed was gradually decreasing. We ended up with absolutely no service at all for several days, which means no working, no email, and no telephone. When service was finally restored, it would be up for two minutes, then down for five, with breaks for outages lasting several hours. We had enough.

We knew it was going to happen. In the front of my brain it was inevitable. But in the back of my brain where all my secret desires and my belief that I am immune to the foibles of the real world live, I harbored the faith that my computer would be perfectly immune from the extreme environment where we now live. Alas, it is not so.

The salt-air and humidity in Mazatlan don't mix well at all with anything metal. Anyone who lives here and most who have visited will have already figured that out and be wondering if I have a point. We've all seen the rust on the iron bars on our gates, on metal shelving, silverware, pots, cars, and numerous other things. Most of us know that things like iron gates need to be painted to protect them from rusting. I want to mention a few things that won't be news to anyone who has spent extensive time here, but may be a bit of a surprise for short time visitors or people starting to consider moving here.

For the previous two days, we experienced a singular wind that furiously assaulted the house like an angry banshee, wailing through our imperfectly sealed windows and mischievously tossing small belongings around the house. The wind speed was higher and the duration was much longer than any tropical storm or near miss with a hurricane we have experienced. Occasionally, the wind would manage to wriggle free the suggestion of a latch on one of our windows and fling it wide, causing complete, swirling chaos in the house.

Sometimes I really want to sit down in the evening, have a cool beverage, sit in the dark, and watch the latest episode of Heroes. Will Hiro make it back to the present? Will Mohinder save Molly? What is Syler up to? These are questions that burn in my mind. My problem is that getting American TV in Mazatlan can be tricky.